Passion
Author's Note: Originally published on April 4, 2010
All through school, I never had much interest in learning facts and memorizing bits of knowledge. Sure, I was a bright bloke and got through my shortened school years well enough, but I realized later it wasn't because I couldn't do it. It was because I didn't have the passion for it. Hermione's passions back then were knowledge and discovery, which was why she was so bloody amazing at it.
I was passionate about a great many things, and when I found something that really captured my attention, it was easy for me to learn everything I could, and I was always hungry for more.
I could effortlessly tell you everything there was to know about Quidditch. I could dispense every statistic and little known fact about the Cannons without a second thought. That was what filled my brain, because it was what I loved.
I could care less about some goblin revolution or the intricacies of a decree from four hundred years ago, but I could understand famed wizard chess stratagems and apply them with ease against any opponent. I was building a skill set much different than the ones designed by an education which sometimes didn't interest me, and so I didn't pursue it with the same amount of zeal.
Those were the hobbies of a boy. It wasn't until I discovered my true passion in life that I really employed my capacity for learning.
Hermione.
She brings out things in me which I never imagined I could feel. I try, every day, to learn something about her and tuck it away in my head. From the second she leapt into my arms and crushed her lips against mine as the world fell down around us, I knew I'd found the thing which would be the main focus of my life and my overwhelming passion.
If you gave me some parchment and a quill, I could write for days, reliving every single touch, every smile, every gentle caress from her, the woman I love. Even recalling that first kiss, I can still feel the pressure of her fingers and the heat of her body against mine, the softness of her lips and warmth of her breath as we finally connected as one.
That was just the first of many touches that followed, all of which I can recall in the clearest of detail—from that first kiss, to explorations in the months following, to making love for the first time the summer following her return from school. Storing those thoughts is a much better use of my brain than the mundane and useless information of everyday life.
As she walks towards me, draped in white with her father by her side, I have yet another image to add to the collection in my head. My life's passions have always ruled my thoughts, driving me to learn, and now, with Hermione as my wife, my greatest passion will continue to fill my thoughts for the rest of my life.